With the impact of climate change becoming more and more apparent, a greater focus is being placed on sustainable businesses practice and reducing waste.

Keeping this in mind, we took a look at three Irish cleantech companies, which recently made it to the final of ClimateLaunchpad.

ClimateLaunchpad is the European Union’s main climate innovation business initiative, which was set up to specifically develop innovations that address sustainability and climate change.

AquaRoot

Mimicking the function of a tree root network to transport water environmentally and efficiently, AquaRoot’s proprietary 3D printed biodegradable pipe platform enables farmers to print their own irrigation systems rapidly, on site, and in a low-cost way.

The technology enables farmers to seed and grow their crops in these pipes even in drought prone environments.

The Nu Wardrobe

This female-led start-up, which is based in Dublin, is a clothes sharing website is targeted at university students.

Its online platform allows fashionistas to share and swap clothes. By paying a service fee, which ranges from €2 to €5, users can borrow an outfit, instead of buying an item which may be only worn once and been made in a country with lax environmental and labour standards.

The company began in 2015 with just two passionate students and has quickly grown to a team of eight graduates and students, with a community across the globe.

In addition to the share and swap clothes service, the company runs panel discussions, documentary screenings, and upcycling workshops.

Size/U

Founded by Paddy Healy and Eoin Matthews, Size/U aims to enhance the way we shop for clothing online through enabling online retailers to provide their customers with the correct fit.

The company aims to do this through a garment embedded with sensors, which they will sell to online retailers. The fabric technology will digitally map the human body and provide a customers unique body measurements.

This will vastly reduce the enormous financial and carbon cost of returns across the industry they say. And for consumers it will provide them with a friction-less shopping experience.

The three companies are supported by Sustainable Nation Ireland, a not for profit Government agency that was set up in 2016 to promote Ireland as a location for sustainable business.

"We are building a new economy for the future based on long-term and sustained growth. This new economy is based on the global need to address climate-change, which historically will be one of biggest global challenges," Aideen O’Hora, director of sustainable innovation with Sustainable Nation Ireland, said.